Breakage behavior of biomass pellets: An experimental and numerical study

The presence and generation of fines and dust in the bulk of biomass pellets have inflicted several problems in the supply chain during transportation and storage, and the breakage behavior of pellets has been scarcely studied so far. Fines and dust are the consequences of impact and abrasive forces through the whole supply chain; however, the...

Minimization of wear in a transfer chute by geometric optimization of convex pattern surface: A DEM study

Using bionic surface on the material equipment interface of bulk handling equipment is a promising solution for wear reduction. A bionic surface is a flat surface outfitted with a pattern of convexes that disrupt the natural sliding flow of bulk material. Previous numerical work has shown a significant reduction of wear of bionic surfaces...

Biomass pellet breakage: A numerical comparison between contact models

The breakage behaviour of biomass pellets with a diameter of 6 mm under uniaxial compression test was studied experimentally and numerically using the discrete element method (DEM). Two types of the available bonding contact models in EDEM software were used to compare the macroscopic properties including the maximum stress at failure, strain at...

Large-scale Homogenization of Bulk Materials in Mammoth Silos

This doctoral thesis concerns the large-scale homogenization of bulk materials in mammoth silos. The objective of this research was to determine the best stacking and reclaiming method for homogenization in mammoth silos. For this purpose a simulation program was developed to estimate the homogenization performance of different stacking and...